Isaiah 29

I do think it's interesting to note chapter 27 has 54 verses.

Isaiah 29 only has 24.

So again, how John was saying earlier that we have things to help us understand Isaiah, part of that are 30 more verses in chapter 27 to understand this section, this chapter of Isaiah.

This is the extra fries, right, John?

We are to go forth, and, and we are to gather, and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon is how it's done.

That's Isaiah 29.

And if you're just gonna read the King James, you're gonna miss enormous part of this, because I love the Isaiah 29 chapters in the Book of Mormon and when they're repeated sometimes in the JST.

You know, this is talking about the restoration and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.

I, I've taken on my slides in my handout the, um, verses from Isaiah 29 and the verses from 2 Nephi chapter 27, and the idea of the book that's going to come forth is repeated 20 times [laughs] in this area.

I just love these verses.

Um, starting in verse 11, "The vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, 'Read this, I pray thee.' And he saith, 'I cannot, for it is sealed.'" And then skipping ahead to verse 14, we have the beautiful story reenacted with Martin Harris taking the, um, letters that Emma and Joseph Carr wrote out and s-- he took, I think there were four copies made, and he took one of them back east, and Dr. Mitchell and Anthon and a few others were able to look at them and claim that they knew how to read them or claim that they wanted to read them when they didn't know anything of re- Egyptian.

Um, and I've got a couple of charts here.

would say get out of hell free card and be able to live your life and go to Sunday's sessions and get reclaimed.

Which God kind of reveals in Isaiah 29, the people that are just going through the religious motions, they actually get struck with spiritual blindness.

Romans 1, 18 to 32 again.

Isaiah 29.

You're just going like, God blinds their leaders to judge the people.

Because that's who they trust in.

Our truth, through the restoration, God has given us scripture and truth that can help us to see clearly, understand doctrine, rejoice in Christ, and draw our hearts closer to him.

I get a fire in the bones for this lesson because many Latter-day Saints already know that Isaiah 29 is an important Old Testament prophecy that points to the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, the restoration.

But sometimes we become so focused on proving that the prophecy was fulfilled that we overlook what Isaiah says the marvelous work is supposed to accomplish.

The main reason he gave us the Book of Mormon and the Restoration was to open eyes, open ears, increase joy, help us to understand doctrine, and most of all, bring our hearts closer to him.

surrounding its publication and the restoration of the church.

But so is what can happen to us personally when its words, its message gets inside of us.

So what should the teacher know for this lesson? Isaiah 29 begins with a prophecy concerning Ariel, which is another name for Jerusalem.

But by verses nine through 13, Isaiah is describing a broader condition of spiritual blindness in the world, not just Jerusalem.

And so I, in my...

I would even say middle school years, my heart, it was like what Isaiah 29 speaks about.

Like I honored him with my lips, but my heart was so hard and rebellious and far from him.

And I could feel how dead I was inside.

And we have a course, a Bible correspondence course, that helps you get to know your Bible.

Isaiah 29 talks about studying the Bible here a little, there a little.

Mr. Armstrong talked about putting the puzzle pieces together.

You can't understand the Bible if you just start at the front cover and work your way through to the book of Revelation.